MidFirst Bank Invests $3.40 Million in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• MidFirst Bank disclosed a new stake in Morningstar, buying 15,647 shares valued at about $3.4 million in the fourth quarter.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: Morningstar has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $227.67, though one firm recently downgraded it to Hold.
• Morningstar reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.18 beating estimates and revenue of $644.8 million topping expectations, even as the stock trades well below its 52-week high.

MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,647 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,400,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 120.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 target price on Morningstar in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morningstar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.67.

Morningstar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar announced a quarterly dividend, a sign of continued financial stability and shareholder returns. Morningstar Declares Quarterly Dividend, Signals Financial Stability
• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar Wealth is launching public/private model portfolios with Apollo, Franklin Templeton, and J.P. Morgan, which could expand its product lineup and deepen relationships with major asset managers. Morningstar teams up with Wall Street firms to open private markets to retail investors
• Positive Sentiment: The company is moving into the public/private model portfolio market, which may support growth in its wealth-management and alternatives offerings. Morningstar enters public-private model portfolio race
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles highlighting Morningstar’s valuation work on companies like SpaceX and the broader AI sector are more about Morningstar’s research presence than its direct earnings outlook. Morningstar thinks SpaceX stock is wildly overvalued — but says there are 2 ways the company can change its mind
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the positive business announcements, MORN fell sharply and is now trading well below recent moving averages, suggesting investors are still concerned about momentum and valuation risk. A Look at Morningstar Inc (MORN) After 6.5% Decline -- GF Value $350.65 vs Price $153.61

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total transaction of $1,205,167.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,114,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,348,872,005.16. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock worth $11,169,471 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 38.80% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $153.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.08 and a 1 year high of $316.71. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $177.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.38. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $644.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.91 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 16.06%.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar's proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.

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